Predators now saviours of sal forest

Once engaged in felling and removing trees from Modhupur forests, they are now serving as community forest workers to protect the traditional sal forest following a two-month-long motivation and training programme provided by forest department. Photo: STARMirza Shakil, Tangail

Earlier accused in 107 cases for stealing trees from Madhupur forests, Hasan Ali of Gachhabari village in Madhupur upazila under Tangail district now serves as a community forest worker, thanks to the forest department's initiative to revive the traditional sal forest.

"Forest officials told me and others about the importance of forest and environment. Now I am very tired of the cases filed by forest department and want to live a tension-free life,” he said while talking to this correspondent a couple of days ago.

"Now I want to contribute to protecting the forests which I had been damaging for long. No matter how much money it brings me, I will get mental peace," said the 45-year-old man, who had been stealing trees from the Madhupur forests for around 30 years.

Nobi Hossain, 48, of Kamalapur in Muktagachha upazila in Mymensingh district, started stealing forest resources including trees from Madhupur forests in his boyhood and has already made accused in 79 cases filed by the forest department.

"Local influential people engaged me for stealing trees from Madhupur forest but I could not realise that it was wrong. I have agreed to the proposal of forest department officials as they have taken responsibly of all my cases," he said.

Like Hasan Ali and Nobi Hossain are among the 400 listed 'tree thieves' of Madhupur forests, who joined the forest department's initiative to protect the traditional forests.

The department has provided them two months' training under its 'Re-vegetation of Madhupur Forests Through Rehabilitation of Local and Ethnic Communities' project during June 1 to July 31 this year.

For the purpose, Tk 15 crore government fund was provided from its Climate Trust Fund.

Earlier spread over 45,000 acres of lands, the Madhupur forests has now shrunk into only 8,000 acres, forest department sources said.

Influential forest plunderers, both locals and outsiders, have also grabbed vast areas of forestlands and raised different fruit orchards including pineapple and banana and constructed makeshift structures there, forest department sources said.

Over 40,000 people living in 57 villages, set up inside Madhupur forests after 1950, are dependent on the forest resources for livelihood.

Besides, over 100 brickfields made around Madhupur forests in seven upazilas of Tangail and Mymensingh districts are dependent on the firewood from the forest to burn bricks.

The local forest department with its 50 officials and employees failed to protect the forest properly, they said.

"We have made a list of 500 plunderers of Madhupur forests and provided 400 of them different trainings to reduce their dependence on the forests by improving their life," said Sarfuddin Ahmed, assistant conservator of forest (South-2) in Tangail.

The programme included trainings on apiculture, mushroom cultivation, nursery, afforestation, fire fighting, poultry, cow fattening, fish farming, vegetable gardening, grass growing, compost fertiliser production, cultivation of medicinal plants, production of jam and jelly etc.

After getting the trainings, the 400 people are now working as community forest workers. They are assisting the forest guards to protect the forests and actively participating in activities to save and develop forest.

A community forest worker got Tk 150 per day during the training period and after the training they are getting Tk 200 each per week, the forest official said.

They have been provided with identity cards and complete uniforms including boots, belts and caps.

The 5500 families living inside Madhupur forests will get government grants and aids for their rehabilitation. As per plan to turn the dwelling houses of the families as environment friendly farmhouses, each family will get 100 saplings of firewood trees, 50 saplings of fruit trees and 50 saplings of forest trees. Besides, they will get grants for cattle raising and cultivation of vegetables and medicinal plants.

Each family will also get a modern furnace so that they do not have to use wood as fire.

"When I joined here six months ago, I found Madhupur forest in a very pitiable condition. We have provided trainings to 400 local forest thieves and they have vowed to protect the forests. We also re-created forests on 200 hectares of grabbed and treeless lands on participatory basis. Plantation of local varieties of trees have got priority in it,” said Asit Ranjan Paul, divisional forest officer in Tangail.